Tim Banks is the CEO of APM, a Canada wide construction and property development company, with its head office in Charlottetown, PEI. My family has lived on PEI for over eight generations and I was born at the Prince County Hospital in Summerside, PEI. I am hoping someone will soon develop a blood test to authenticate when you actually become an "Islander" as I am still having problems explaining where I'm from?

Sunday, October 4, 2009

I'm sure there were some tongues waggling down on the 5th floor when they seen this news item as Government heads back to more Committee Meetings next week and this story will certainly fuel the fire by the opposition to call the deputies forward to talk about the PNP's... what's so strange about this story is there was no reporter taking credit for the interview which usually means that the person being interviewed usually calls it in but we don't know that is this case.... but why a federal Liberal MP would touch a Liberal Provincial issue is really strange particularly one that could involve questions directly related to his own family... I can remember back when the Ghiz Government was in opposition and they continued to "Demand" that Kent Scales the bureaucratic in charge of the Polar File show up before the hearings.... but when all was said and done with the release of the Polar Report there was no mention or blame put on Mr. Scales as in most cases these bureaucrats are directed by the Ministers and the Premier's office... and I suspect that will be the case in the PNP program and neither the former Binns government or the current government will ever come out lily white on any issue so why do we waste all this time talking about the past instead of looking towards the future... Charlottetown MP backs calling deputies to provincial committee EDITORIAL STAFFThe GuardianA Liberal MP is siding with the Conservative opposition in P.E.I. and calling for the provincial public accounts committee to hear from deputy ministers. Charlottetown MP Shawn Murphy says as far as he knows the Prince Edward Island public accounts committee is the only public accounts committee in Canada that does not allow deputy ministers to appear. Murphy said it would be far more effective for the committee to hear from deputy ministers — a position Opposition Leader Olive Crane has been pushing for the past 10 months. When the province’s public accounts committee first began probing the controversial Provincial Nominee Program last fall, then-Innovation minister Richard Brown would not allow his program administrators and deputy ministers to appear and answer questions. This was in spite of the fact former Innovation deputy Brooke MacMillan was at the centre of much PNP controversy when it was uncovered he and his wife both benefitted from the program. Since then, the Liberal MLAs on the committee have repeatedly upheld the notion of only calling ministers of departments to appear before the committee. But with the PNP back on the agenda as public accounts delves into the 2009 auditor general’s report, which includes the auditor’s special investigation into the immigration program, Crane tried once again this week to pitch the idea of calling in deputies and senior bureaucrats. For the past three-and-a-half years, Murphy has been the chairman of the federal public accounts committee. He said the federal committee hears from deputy ministers and it is only on very rare occasions that a cabinet minister would be invited to appear. “The deputies are responsible for administration and that normally would be the focus of the public accounts committee,” said Murphy. “The ministers, individually and collectively in cabinet, are responsible for establishing policy, which normally would not be a concern to a Public Accounts Committee.” Murphy went on to say that the trouble with the present dispute before the provincial public accounts committee is that the Opposition’s new position is completely inconsistent with the policy held by Conservative members for 11 years prior to May 2007, when they insisted that only cabinet ministers would appear before the committee. “Given their long-held previous policy, the Opposition’s new position would be seen by most people as being hypocritical.” Murphy suggests that to get beyond this present dispute the provincial public accounts committee may wish to adopt a policy of calling deputy ministers to appear before the committee, which could come into effect at some point in the future, perhaps a year from now.

4 comments:

Tim, the reason people go on about both Polar and PNP is that those who refuse to learn from the past are condemned to go on repeating it.

You may recall that Robert Ghiz ran on a reform platform - and in Opposition tried to hold the Binns Government to account for the same wrongdoing it now wallows in. Some of us voted for change and want to hold Ghiz to his word.

Shawn realizes that if there is a federal election ..his seat is at risk....the Liberals are in a mess..they have a leader with no personality....and the city needs a sitting Tory member....because there are some major projects planned,from conventions centers to new sport centres...and a sitting Govt member will have more clout....